Confirming local marketplace transaction consummation for online payment consummation

ABSTRACT

Exemplary embodiment of the present invention would provide systems, including Internet-based systems, and computer-implemented methods, for providing online Buyers and Sellers who physically transact an exchange of an item at a local meeting place, indicia of confirmation of the exchange on which to base a background online payment. In particular, exemplary embodiments of the present invention would provide a way for Buyers and/or Sellers to input an identifier for online authentication to confirm that a physical exchange of an item sold had been transacted and that would accordingly provide an online system with a basis to charge the relevant Buyer&#39;s account for a sale amount and pay the Seller for the item sold.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 13/302,684, which was filed Nov. 22, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.8,271,394 which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.61/552,328, filed Oct. 27, 2011, entitled “CONFIRMING LOCAL MARKETPLACETRANSACTION CONSUMMATION FOR ONLINE PAYMENT CONSUMMATION,” the entirecontent and disclosures of all of which are incorporated for allpurposes by reference herein as is fully stated herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the present invention is online payment for transactionsarranged online, and more particularly, confirming that a localmarketplace transaction has been consummated for authorizing onlinepayment consummation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many online transactions are considered consummated at the point whenthe item ordered by an online customer is shipped. For example,customers routinely access the Internet to buy items from online stores.At an online store, a customer might browse items available, select anitem for purchase, provide a method of payment, such as a credit card orPAYPAL® account number, and identify an address to which the item shouldbe delivered. The online store then sends the item and charges thecustomer's account.

Alternatively, some stores, including online stores, choose to operatethrough an online marketplace, such as, for example, AMAZON®, or EBAY®.A customer's experience through an online marketplace is similar topurchasing through an online store, except that the store that actuallydelivers the purchased item to the address specified by the customer isnot provided with payment information details. For example, a customermay purchase an item through an online marketplace by accessing theonline marketplace, and similar to accessing an online store directly,browsing items available, selecting an item to purchase, providing amethod of payment, such as credit card or PAYPAL® account number, andidentifying an address to which the item should be delivered.

Once the customer submits the order, the online marketplace notifies thestore, such as an online store, of the item order; the onlinemarketplace notifies the store that the customer has authorized paymentfor the particular item and provides the store with the address to whichthe item should be delivered. The online marketplace, however, does notprovide the store with any of the payment method details. Rather, thestore must first send the item to the customer-indicated deliveryaddress, and must provide a confirmation to the online marketplace thatthe item has been sent. One way by which stores provide suchconfirmation is by providing, for example, a USPS Delivery Confirmationnumber associated with the item sent.

The online marketplace requires receipt from the store of a confirmationthat the item has been shipped before the online marketplace authorizespayment to the store according to the payment method authorized by thecustomer; the online marketplace takes some percentage of the payment aspayment for having provided the online and payment services.

As can be seen from the above-outlined process, online transactionsthrough online stores or through stores operating through onlinemarketplaces, are considered to have reliably been consummated forpayment authorization purposes upon confirmation that the item orderedhas been shipped. That is, for purchases of items through online storesor stores operating through online marketplaces, shipment confirmationof an item is considered to provide reliable confirmation that thetransaction has been consummated.

As compared to an online transaction for an item that is to be shippedby an online store, or for an item that is to be shipped by a storeafter notification by an online marketplace, some Internet websitesallow purchasers to arrange for a local, physical, exchange of an itemfor payment. For example, CRAIGSLIST® provides listings of manydifferent types of items for sale. As compared to an online purchase, acustomer browses items for sale through CRAIGSLIST®. Instead of payingfor the item through CRAIGSLIST®, the customer contacts the seller andarranges to meet the seller, in order to see the item and determinewhether or not to purchase the item. For example, for a car, thecustomer would want to see the car and test drive it, beforeconsummating its purchase. Once the customer is satisfied with the item,the customer would provide the seller with some form of payment.

The above-described type of transaction that involves a customer meetinga seller to physically exchange the item being purchased for payment maybe referred to herein as a “local marketplace transaction.” The physicalexchanging of an item for payment may be referred to herein as a “localmarketplace.”

Issues sometimes arise with local marketplace transactions. One issuethat sometimes arises is that a local marketplace buyer may provide thelocal marketplace seller with some form of payment that the sellercannot resolve for sufficient payment. For example, a buyer mightprovide a seller with a personal check for which there are insufficientfunds.

As a result of the above-mentioned insufficient funds problem, somelocal marketplace sellers require cash payment. In some cases, however,the buyer-provided “cash” may be counterfeit. In other cases, anunsuspecting buyer that brought cash for a local marketplace purchase,has been robbed.

Individuals that might want to sell an item through a website such asCRAIGSLIST® may not be in a position to accept credit cards for payment.Further, a customer may not feel comfortable providing an individualseller that the customer is meeting for the first time in a place suchas a grocery store parking lot, or other minimal security location, withcredit card information.

As compared to online purchases where shipment confirmation of an itemis considered to provide reliable confirmation that the transaction hasbeen consummated, websites that provide for the arrangement of localmarketplace transactions have not facilitated online payment becausethere has been no way to reliably confirm that the local marketplacetransaction has been consummated.

Some way is needed to reliably confirm that a local marketplacetransaction has been consummated to facilitate reliable online paymentconsummation.

Further, some companies may not want to, or may not be in a financialposition to, provide payment between buyers and sellers on their ownwebsite. Such a situation might be a temporary one. Or, for marketingreasons, some companies may want to advertise through a PaymentProcessor website, that is, a website to which customers provide paymentaccount information, but through which, customers may purchase itemsfrom third-party companies. Some buyers may feel more secure providingtheir payment information to a Payment Processor website than to smalloperators. However, where companies act to facilitate transactionsbetween third-party Buyers and Sellers, a Payment Processor websiteowner may not want to be responsible for authorizing payment to suchcompanies unless the companies can provide some way for confirming tothe Payment Processor that the transaction for which payment isrequested has been completed (consummated). Where companies act tofacilitate local marketplace transactions between third-party Buyers andSellers, a way is needed to reliably confirm to a Payment Processor thatthe local marketplace transaction has been consummated to facilitatereliable online payment consummation by the Payment Processor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiment of the present invention would provide systems,including Internet-based systems, and computer-implemented methods, forproviding online Buyers and Sellers who physically transact an exchangeof an item at a local meeting place, indicia of confirmation of theexchange on which to base a background online payment. In particular,exemplary embodiments of the present invention would provide a way forBuyers and/or Sellers to input an identifier for online authenticationto confirm that a physical exchange of an item sold had been transactedand that would accordingly provide an online system with a basis tocharge the relevant Buyer's account for a sale amount and pay the Sellerfor the item sold.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention would provide systems andcomputer-implemented methods for reliably confirming that a localmarketplace transaction has been consummated thereby facilitatingreliable online payment consummation for local marketplace transactions.

One exemplary embodiment of the present invention would provide anInternet-based computer system for confirming that a local marketplacetransaction has been consummated; such an exemplary Internet-basedcomputer system would comprise at least one exemplary server computerthat would be programmed to: in response to a buyer request to purchasean item featured for sale by a seller, generate an identifier of atransaction for a sale of the item; store in a computer-accessiblememory a record that would comprise a relationship between theidentifier of the transaction, an identification of the buyer, and anidentification of the seller; communicate the identifier of thetransaction to the buyer; receive from the seller a communication of theidentifier in combination with the identification of the seller; andcharge an account associated with the buyer for an amount associatedwith the sale of the item. In one exemplary embodiment, the exemplaryrecord would comprise a relationship between the identifier of thetransaction, an identification of the buyer, an identification of theseller and an identification of the item.

In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the identifierwould comprise a combination of human-readable characters; communicatingthe identifier of the transaction to the buyer would comprisescommunicating a message to a mobile telephone associated with the buyerthat would comprise said combination of human-readable characters.

In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the identifierwould comprise a machine-readable graphic symbology; communicating theidentifier of the transaction to the buyer would comprise communicatinga message to a mobile telephone associated with the buyer that wouldcomprise a visual representation of said machine-readable graphicsymbology.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the present invention are more fully setforth in the following description of exemplary embodiments of theinvention. The description is presented with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts high-level logic functions for a Buyer's overviewperspective of a local marketplace transaction in an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A-2C depict high-level logic functions for processing aconfirmation by a party to a local marketplace transaction of aconsummation of the local marketplace transaction in an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts alternative high-level logic functions for an exemplaryPayment Processor to process payments for third-party online marketplacecompanies in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 depicts further alternative high-level logic functions for anexemplary Payment Processor for processing a confirmation by a party toa local marketplace transaction of a consummation of the localmarketplace transaction in an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 depicts high-level logic functions for a Buyer's overviewperspective of a local marketplace transaction in an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 1, asdepicted in exemplary logic function 101, an exemplary Buyer wouldsearch or browse an online marketplace website (as illustrativelydepicted by exemplary Seller/Item Information database 112) and wouldtentatively agree to purchase an item for an advertised sale amount (or,alternatively, for a negotiated price such as may be negotiated throughan auction web site, or through a buyer-posting web site, such as, forexample, through www.zaarly.com, or through other buyer-sellernegotiation business models) from a third-party Seller through theonline marketplace (which may sometimes be referred to generally asexemplary online “Company A”).

Reference herein to an advertised sale amount is illustrative and is nota limitation of the present invention. Rather, in some exemplaryembodiments, an exemplary Buyer would negotiate a tentative sale amountfor an item such as through an auction website. In other exemplaryembodiments, an exemplary Buyer would tentatively agree to an advertisedsale amount for an item. Yet other embodiments would provide exemplarySellers with the opportunity to advertise an item for online auction,for online negotiation and/or for sale; exemplary Buyer's would eithertentatively agree to an advertised price, or to a negotiated or auctionbid price, as the case may be.

Exemplary embodiments would not be limited to seller-postings of itemsfor sale. Rather, exemplary embodiments of the present invention couldbe used with buyer-posting driven business models (such as, for example,through www.zaarly.com), or through other buyer-seller negotiationbusiness models whether now known or in the future discovered.

As further explained below, some exemplary embodiments would provide forlocal marketplace negotiations that could result in a modified finalamount for the item as compared to the amount that the exemplary Buyerhad initially tentatively agreed to online.

As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, theexemplary Buyer would be tentatively agreeing to purchase the itemsubject to the exemplary Buyer's later physical inspection and approvalof the item listed for sale. As depicted in exemplary logic function105, the exemplary Buyer would then input exemplary payment informationto tentatively pay for the item that the exemplary Buyer has tentativelyagreed to purchase; exemplary payment information would include, forexample, a type of payment (e.g., credit card, debit card, bankidentifier, PAYPAL®, or the like), a relevant account number, and otherBuyer identification information that would be used to verify thepayment information. The exemplary embodiment would store the paymentinformation in an exemplary payment information database 106.

As depicted in exemplary logic function 107, the exemplary embodimentwould then verify that the payment information that the Buyer hadprovided was valid; the verification would include a request to verifythat the advertised sale amount would be authorized for charge againstthe Buyer-provided payment type and payment account. As depicted inexemplary logic function 107, to verify the Buyer's payment information,the exemplary embodiment would communicate with the relevant PaymentEntity 180 a-180 n. For example, if the Buyer had provided a particulartype of credit card, then the exemplary embodiment would communicatewith the relevant Payment Entity that was associated with processingpayment for the particular type of credit card.

As depicted by exemplary test logic function 108, the exemplaryembodiment would determine from information that would have beenprovided by the relevant Payment Entity (e.g., one of exemplary PaymentEntities 180 a-180 n) whether or not the Payment Information that hadbeen provided by the Buyer was valid or not.

As depicted by the “N” (No) path from exemplary test logic function 108,if the Buyer Payment Information was not valid, or if the amount of thesale was not authorized, then the exemplary embodiment would notify theBuyer to input valid information (e.g., in exemplary logic function105). On the other hand, if, as depicted by the “Y” (Yes) path fromexemplary test logic function 108, the Buyer Payment Information wasverified as being valid and the amount of the sale is authorized, thenthe exemplary embodiment would request 109 that the relevant PaymentEntity (e.g., one of exemplary Payment Entities 180 a-180 n) put a Holdon a payment authorization against an account associated with the Buyeraccording to the Buyer Payment Information for the relevant advertisedsale amount.

As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, inexemplary embodiments that may be implemented with auction or otherbusiness model-based sites, e.g., with buyer-posting sites, the relevantamount (as negotiated between the Buyer and Seller) of the sale would bethe basis for the payment authorization and the Hold.

In one exemplary embodiment, an exemplary Hold as described above wouldbe placed on a payment authorization for the relevant amount against aparticular Buyer's account for a pre-established maximum number of days,e.g., for an exemplary pre-established maximum period of seven (7) days.In such an exemplary embodiment, if confirmation of the consummation ofthe relevant transaction between the Buyer and the Seller (as describedfurther below) is not received before the expiration of thepre-established maximum number of days, then the exemplary Hold would beremoved from the relevant Buyer's account, and the Buyer and the Sellerwould be notified that the Hold had been removed; the Buyer would beinstructed to re-enter Payment Information, which would again beprocessed in a manner similar to that described above, and a new Holdwould be placed on a payment authorization against the Buyer's accountfor the relevant amount.

Continuing with reference to FIG. 1, as depicted in exemplary logicfunction 110, the exemplary Buyer would receive an exemplary Buyer“Order Confirmation” email (from exemplary online “Company A”) thatwould include an exemplary Buyer identifier (that would be generated bythe exemplary embodiment and that would be stored on an exemplarytransaction information database as illustratively depicted by exemplarytransaction information database 111). In the exemplary embodiment, theexemplary Buyer identifier would be generated by the exemplaryembodiment to be sufficiently unique to uniquely identify the particularBuyer during a particular period of time. As will be understood bysomeone with ordinary skill in the art, and as will be described in moredetail below, various forms of a Buyer identifier could be generatedwithout departing from the spirit of the present invention. In someexemplary embodiments, a Buyer identifier would be a human-readablecombination of alphanumeric and/or special characters; in otherexemplary embodiments, a Buyer identifier would comprise amachine-readable code, such as a machine-readable barcode, whether of atype now known or in the future discovered.

As further depicted in exemplary logic function 110, the exemplarySeller would receive an exemplary Seller “Order Confirmation” email(from an exemplary online marketplace such as exemplary online “CompanyA”) that would include order details and information regarding, forexample, how to confirm with the local marketplace transaction has beencompleted. In one exemplary embodiment, the exemplary Seller “OrderConfirmation” email would include an exemplary Seller identifier(sometimes referred to herein as a“Seller-Transaction-Complete-Indicator”) that would be generated by theexemplary embodiment to be sufficiently unique to uniquely identify theparticular Seller and the particular transaction by the Seller during aparticular period of time.

Continuing with reference to FIG. 1, as depicted in exemplary logicfunction 115, the exemplary Buyer and Seller would agree to meet inperson to physically conduct the local marketplace transaction. In someembodiments, the exemplary online marketplace would enable the Buyer andSeller to anonymously exchange email messages in order to arrange ameeting for the Buyer to inspect the item. In other embodiments, theexemplary online marketplace would provide a Seller telephone number tothe Buyer for the Buyer to contact the Seller and arrange to meet.

Continuing with reference to FIG. 1, as depicted in exemplary logicfunction 120, the exemplary Buyer and Seller would meet in person. Asdepicted in exemplary logic function 125, the exemplary Buyer wouldinspect the item.

If the exemplary Buyer does not agree to purchase the item, as depictedin exemplary logic function 140, then, as depicted in exemplary logicfunction 145, the exemplary Buyer and Seller would notify (such as byrespective Buyer and Seller email messages) the exemplary onlinemarketplace (e.g., exemplary Company A) that the transaction has notbeen completed. As depicted in exemplary logic function 150, theexemplary online marketplace would the receive the Buyer and Sellernotifications and would respond with a confirmation to both the Buyerand the Seller that the transaction did not occur, and as depicted inexemplary logic function 155, would remove payment authorization forpayment of the item, and as depicted in exemplary logic function 160,would notify the relevant Payment Entity (e.g., one of exemplary PaymentEntities 180 a-180 n) to remove the previously-requested paymentauthorization hold against the relevant Buyer's payment information andaccount.

If, on the other hand, the exemplary Buyer accepts the item forpurchase, then as depicted in exemplary logic function 130, theexemplary Buyer would agree to complete the transaction, and as depictedin exemplary logic function 135, would provide the Seller with theBuyer's exemplary Buyer identifier.

As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, theBuyer providing the Seller with the Buyer's exemplary Buyer identifierwould provide the Seller with evidence that the Buyer has accepted theitem and thereby consummated the local marketplace transaction. As willbe described in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 2A-2C, theSeller would then provide the exemplary online marketplace with theBuyer's identifier, thereby confirming that the local marketplacetransaction has been consummated so that the exemplary onlinemarketplace would then have evidence that the local marketplacetransaction has been consummated and would authorize paymentconsummation for the transaction. Processing of a Seller's confirmationthat the local marketplace transaction has occurred is described furtherbelow with respect to FIGS. 2A-2C. In such an exemplary embodiment, asdescribed further below, the exemplary online marketplace would requirereceipt of the Seller's input of the Buyer's identifier, as evidencethat the local marketplace transaction had been consummated, beforeauthorizing a charge for the item purchased to the Buyer'spreviously-authorized payment method.

As previously mentioned above, in an exemplary embodiment that placed anexemplary Hold on a payment authorization for a relevant tentative saleamount against a particular Buyer's account for a pre-establishedmaximum number of days, e.g., for an exemplary pre-established maximumperiod of seven (7) days, if confirmation of the consummation of therelevant transaction between the Buyer and the Seller (such as receiptof the Seller's input of the Buyer's identifier, or in other embodimentsas described elsewhere herein, receipt from the Seller and/or the Buyerof an authentic identifier) had not been received before the expirationof the pre-established maximum number of days, then the exemplary Holdwould have been removed from the relevant Buyer's account, and unlessthe Buyer had re-entered Payment Information, then the exemplaryembodiment would respond to an input by the Seller of the Buyer'sidentifier (or in other embodiments as described elsewhere herein, inputfrom the Seller and/or the Buyer of an authentic identifier) with anotification that the previously-placed Hold against the Buyer's accounthad been removed and that if the Seller proceeded with the transaction,the Seller would do so at the Seller's own risk of possibly notreceiving payment; such an exemplary embodiment would take the input (bythe Buyer and/or the Seller) of the confirmation of the transaction as asubsequent Buyer authorization of payment to the previously-identifiedBuyer's account, and would at that point, process the paymentauthorization and attempt to charge the Buyer's account for the amountof the sale; if the Buyer's account could successfully be charged forthe amount of the sale, such an exemplary embodiment would notify boththe Buyer and the Seller that payment from the Buyer's account issuccessfully transferred to the Seller.

On the other hand, if the previously-placed Hold had expired against theBuyer's account, some exemplary embodiments would deny completion ofsuch a transaction altogether.

If, on the other hand, confirmation of the consummation of the relevanttransaction between the Buyer and the Seller is received by such anexemplary embodiment before the expiration of the pre-establishedmaximum period of time, then the exemplary embodiment would notify boththe Buyer and the Seller that payment from the Buyer's account issuccessfully transferred to the Seller.

In some alternative embodiments, both the Buyer and the Seller wouldprovide each other with their respective identifiers, and the onlinemarketplace would receive either the Buyer's input of the Seller'sidentifier, or the Seller's input of the Buyer's identifier, as evidencethat the local marketplace transaction had been consummated. In such analternative embodiment, the exemplary online marketplace would acceptreceipt of either, or both, the Seller's input of the Buyer'sidentifier, and/or the Buyer's input of the Seller's identifier, asevidence that the local marketplace transaction had been consummated,before authorizing a charge for the item purchased to the Buyer'spreviously-authorized payment method.

As a further alternative, the Seller could provide the Buyer with theSeller's identifier and the online marketplace would receive the Buyer'sinput of the Seller's identifier as evidence that the local marketplacetransaction had been consummated. In such an exemplary embodiment, theexemplary online marketplace would require receipt of the Buyer's inputof the Seller's identifier, as evidence that the local marketplacetransaction had been consummated, before authorizing a charge for theitem purchased to the Buyer's previously-authorized payment method.

As yet a further alternative, rather than generate atransaction-specific identifier, in some further alternative exemplaryembodiments, a Buyer could maintain a “Buyer's vault” and could set upone or more passwords to that Buyer's vault; whenever the Buyer decidedto purchase an item for which the sale was arranged through theexemplary online marketplace, the Buyer would communicate the Buyer'spassword to the exemplary online marketplace to confirm that thetransaction for the sale of the item had been completed. Because a Buyermight arrange for multiple transactions during a particular time period,such a further alternative exemplary embodiment may require that theBuyer provide the Buyer's password with an identification of the Seller(e.g., the Seller's telephone number) and/or the item (e.g., an SKU, anISBN, or other identifier).

In one such further alternative exemplary embodiment, an exemplary Buyerwould set up a different password, sometimes referred to as a “PIN”, foreach transaction that the Buyer anticipated conducting. That is, ratherthan the exemplary online marketplace system generating atransaction-specific Buyer identifier, the exemplary Buyer would setup atransaction-specific Buyer-specific PIN for each contemplatedtransaction. In such an embodiment, the exemplary online marketplacewould facilitate the Buyer identifying an item that would be associatedwith a particular transaction-specific, Buyer-specific PIN. Then, if theBuyer decided to actually purchase the item, the Buyer would communicatethe Buyer's transaction-specific password to the exemplary onlinemarketplace to confirm that the transaction for the sale of the item hadbeen completed. Some such further alternative exemplary embodimentswould accept receipt of a particular transaction-specific,Buyer-specific PIN from either the Buyer or from the Seller.

Such a further alternative exemplary embodiment could provide a mobileapplication that would facilitate the Buyer's input (or in someembodiment, the Seller's input) of the Buyer's password and that wouldfacilitate, such as with an online graphic user interface that woulddisplay each item that had previously been identified by the Buyer forpotential purchase, the Buyer's (or in some embodiments, the Seller's)selection of one or more items that comprised a particular saletransaction. Alternatively, a mobile application could be provided thatidentified a particular transaction, such as with an online graphic userinterface that would display an identification of the Seller and anidentification, such as an SKU, an ISBN, other identifier, or a photo)of the item to be bought.

Once such a further alternative exemplary embodiment received a Buyer'sinput (or in some embodiment, the Seller's input) of the Buyer'spassword and/or identification of the transaction (Seller and/oritem(s)), the further alternative exemplary online marketplaceembodiment would: communicate to both the Buyer and the Seller (e.g.,through email, text message, Instant messaging, telephone message, orvarious other types of communication) that the Buyer (or in someembodiment, the Seller) had provided confirmation of the transaction;charge the Buyer's payment method account; and update the variousdatabases (e.g., the exemplary Transaction Information database 111 andthe exemplary Payment Information database 106).

With a Buyer-transaction-confirmation-notification-dependent embodiment,some Sellers might attempt to withhold transferring the item to theBuyer until receiving notification from the further alternativeexemplary online marketplace embodiment that the transaction had beenconfirmed. However, such Seller behavior could defeat the basis for theconfirmation, providing the Buyer with an excuse to return the itemand/or request a chargeback.

Further, as will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in theart, once an item has changed hands, because the Seller is the party towhom payment would be owed, the Seller would be the party most likely toprovide the exemplary online marketplace with confirmation that thetransaction had been consummated.

FIGS. 2A-2C depict high-level logic functions for processing aconfirmation by a party to a local marketplace transaction of aconsummation of the local marketplace transaction in an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. Initiating the high-level logicfunctions depicted in FIGS. 2A-2C are a number of logic functionelements that are similar to those depicted in FIG. 1. In particular,with reference to FIGS. 2A-2C, as depicted in exemplary logic function101′, an exemplary Buyer would search or browse an online marketplacewebsite (as illustratively depicted by exemplary Seller/Item Informationdatabase 112) and would tentatively agree to purchase an item from athird-party Seller through an online marketplace for an advertised saleamount. As depicted in exemplary logic function 105′, the exemplaryonline marketplace would receive Buyer input of payment information totentatively pay for the item that the exemplary Buyer has tentativelyagreed to purchase and would store the Buyer input of paymentinformation in an exemplary Payment Information database 106.

Then, as depicted in exemplary logic function 107′, the exemplaryembodiment would verify that the payment information that the Buyer hadprovided was valid; the verification would include a request to verifythat the advertised sale amount would be authorized for charge againstthe Buyer-provided payment type and payment account. As depicted inexemplary logic function 107′, to verify the Buyer's paymentinformation, the exemplary embodiment would communicate with therelevant Payment Entity (e.g., one of exemplary Payment Entities 180a-180 n). As depicted by exemplary test logic function 108′, theexemplary embodiment would determine from information that would havebeen provided by the relevant Payment Entity (e.g., one of exemplaryPayment Entities 180 a-180 n) whether or not the Payment Informationthat had been provided by the Buyer was valid or not.

As depicted by the “N” (No) path from exemplary test logic function108′, if the Buyer Payment Information was not valid, or if the amountof the sale was not authorized, then the exemplary embodiment wouldnotify the Buyer to input valid information (e.g., in exemplary logicfunction 105′). On the other hand, if, as depicted by the “Y” (Yes) pathfrom exemplary test logic function 108′, the Buyer Payment Informationwas verified as being valid and the amount of the sale is authorized,then the exemplary embodiment would request 109′ that the relevantPayment Entity (e.g., one of exemplary Payment Entities 180 a-180 n) puta Hold on a payment authorization against an account associated with theBuyer according to the Buyer Payment Information for the relevantadvertised sale amount.

Continuing with reference to FIGS. 2A-2C, as depicted in exemplary logicfunction 201, the exemplary online embodiment would generate anexemplary Buyer identifier (sometimes referred to herein as a“Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator”). As previously mentioned above, in theexemplary embodiment, the exemplary Buyer identifier would be generatedby the exemplary online marketplace embodiment to be sufficiently uniqueto uniquely identify the particular Buyer during a particular period oftime. As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art,various forms of a Buyer identifier could be generated without departingfrom the spirit of the present invention. Some exemplary onlinemarketplace embodiments would generate a Buyer identifier to comprise ahuman-readable combination of alphanumeric and/or special charactersthat would itself be a unique identifier during a particular period oftime. In such an exemplary embodiment, the exemplary email message thatwould be sent to the Buyer (see, e.g., element 215, FIGS. 2A-2C), wouldcontain within it the human-readable Buyer identifier. When the Buyermeets the Seller to assess the item, if the Buyer decides to purchasethe item, the Buyer could show the Seller the Buyer's email message, orcould say the identifier to the Seller, so that the Seller could thenprovide the Buyer's identifier to the exemplary online marketplace.

Other exemplary online marketplace embodiments would generate a Buyeridentifier to comprise a human-readable combination of alphanumericand/or special characters that would be unique when combined with theBuyer's or Seller's telephone numbers. In such an embodiment, the Sellerwould need to either email the exemplary online marketplace the Buyer'sidentifier from the Seller's cell phone, or would need to input theBuyer's identifier and the Seller's cell phone number, such as through awebpage for the exemplary online marketplace.

One exemplary embodiment would generate (create) an exemplary randomhash string to identify the transaction; the exemplary embodiment wouldcreate a relationship between the transaction/random hash string andboth the Buyer's cell phone number and the Seller's cell phone number.Some exemplary embodiments would generate an exemplary random hashstring that would uniquely identify a particular transaction for thelife of the system. Other exemplary embodiments would generate anexemplary random hash string that would uniquely identify a particulartransaction for some period of time. Yet other exemplary embodimentswould generate an exemplary random hash string that would uniquelyidentify a particular transaction when combined with the Buyer's and/orthe Seller's cell phone number—in some exemplary embodiments, thecombination would be unique for the life of the system; in otherexemplary embodiments, the combination would be unique for some periodof time.

One exemplary embodiment would generate an exemplary random hash keyusing a combination of a randomly generated identifier (“UUID”) with aninternal millisecond timer (“TickCount”). That is, the exemplary randomhash key would equal UUID+TickCount.

Another exemplary embodiment would generate an exemplary random hash keyusing just the randomly generated UUID.

Depending on the embodiment, the exemplary random hash key could berather long. The longer the hash key, the more difficult it might be forthe user (Seller or Buyer, as the case/embodiment may be) to enter thehash key and/or to enter it accurately. As an alternative to sending theentire exemplary random hash key to the Buyer, some exemplaryembodiments would also generate a shorter “PIN” code or key and wouldcommunicate only the PIN code/key to the Buyer, such as in an email tothe Buyer's cell phone. In one such embodiment, the PIN code/key wouldbe generated to be a unique identifier of the transaction for theparticular Seller—that is, the PIN code/key would be unique for theparticular Seller's cell phone number. In another such embodiment, thePIN code/key would be generated to be a unique identifier of thetransaction for the particular Buyer and for the particular Seller—thatis, the PIN code/key would be unique for the particular Buyer's cellphone number and for the particular Seller's cell phone number.

Yet other exemplary online marketplace embodiments would generate aBuyer identifier (a Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator) that would comprise amachine-readable code, such as a machine-readable barcode or othermachine-readable symbology, whether of a type now known or in the futurediscovered. In such an exemplary embodiment, the exemplary email messagethat would be sent to the Buyer (see, e.g., element 215, FIGS. 2A-2C),would contain within it the machine-readable barcode or othermachine-readable symbology. In such an embodiment, when the Buyer agreesto purchase the item, the Buyer would need to allow the Seller to usethe Seller's cell phone, such as an intelligent cell phone with aninfrared or other scanning device, or a digital camera, to scan or takea photographic image of the machine-readable barcode or othermachine-readable symbology. The Seller would then use the Seller's cellphone to email the scanned/photographed information from the cellphone's scanning/photographing of the machine-readable barcode or othermachine-readable symbology to the exemplary online marketplace.

Yet other exemplary online marketplace embodiments would generate aBuyer-Acceptance-Indicator that would comprise an image that couldcomprise a picture, or a combination of a picture and a phrase.

Although not shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, an alternative to exemplary logicfunction 201 would alternatively, or in addition to generating aBuyer-Acceptance-Indicator, would generate an exemplary Selleridentifier (sometimes referred to herein as a“Seller-Transaction-Complete-Indicator”) that would be generated in muchthe same ways as described above regarding exemplary generation of aBuyer-Acceptance-Indicator, and would, for example, be sufficientlyunique to uniquely identify the particular Seller and the particulartransaction by the Seller during a particular period of time.

Continuing with reference to FIGS. 2A-2C, as depicted in exemplary logicfunction 210, the exemplary embodiment would store the exemplaryBuyer-Acceptance-Indicator (and/or, in other embodiments, the exemplarySeller-Transaction-Complete-Indicator) in a memory storage device, suchas in a database, such as illustratively depicted by exemplarytransaction information database 111, with a relationship to theSeller's telephone number, and in some embodiments, with a relationshipto the Buyer's telephone number, and in some embodiments with arelationship to an identification of the item that is to be purchased;for embodiments that would store the exemplarySeller-Transaction-Complete-Indicator, a relationship between theexemplary Seller-Transaction-Complete-Indicator and the Buyer'stelephone number would be stored, because the Buyer would communicatethe exemplary Seller-Transaction-Complete-Indicator back to theexemplary online marketplace (e.g., exemplary Company A) to confirm thatthe local marketplace transaction had taken place (i.e., beenconsummated).

Some exemplary embodiments would store a relationship between anidentifier of the transaction, an identification of the buyer, and anidentification of the seller. Some exemplary embodiments would store arelationship between the identifier of the transaction, theidentification of the buyer, the identification of the seller, and anidentification of the item.

As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, any ofvarious types of identifiers could be used to identify an item,including but not limited to, for example, SKU, ISBN (e.g., for books(International Standard Book Number)), a customized system-specificidentifier, an Internet address at which a seller posts an advertisementfor the item, or various other types and/or combination(s) of productidentifiers.

Continuing with reference to FIGS. 2A-2C, as depicted in exemplary logicfunction 215, the exemplary embodiment would communicate, such asthrough an email, to the Buyer an exemplary Buyer's “Order Confirmation”that would comprise the exemplary generated Buyer's identifier(Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator) (which in the exemplary embodiment would bestored on exemplary Transaction Information database 111); the exemplaryembodiment would also communicate, such as through an email, to theSeller, an exemplary Seller's “Order Confirmation” that would compriseorder details, and if appropriate, an exemplarySeller-Transaction-Complete-Indicator.

Continuing with reference to FIGS. 2A-2C, as depicted in exemplary logicfunction 120′, the Buyer and Seller would agree, such as throughtelephone calls, emails, anonymous marketplace emails, or the like, tomeet to transact the exchange of the item to be purchased, for paymentauthorization.

When the Buyer and Seller meet, the Buyer would assess the item to bepurchased as depicted in exemplary logic function 125′ to determinewhether or not to complete the transaction.

As depicted in exemplary test function 125″, if the Buyer declines toaccept (a “No” path), then the Buyer would not agree to complete thetransaction 140′, the Buyer and/or the Seller would notify the exemplaryonline marketplace (e.g., exemplary Company A) that the transaction wasnot completed 145′, and the exemplary embodiment would terminate thetransaction, and would not submit any charges against the Buyer'spreviously-indicated payment method 150′/155′; the exemplary TransactionInformation database 111 and the exemplary Payment Information database106 would be updated to show that the transaction had been terminated,and as depicted in exemplary logic function 160′, the exemplaryembodiment would notify the relevant Payment Entity (e.g., one ofexemplary Payment Entities 180 a-180 n) to remove thepreviously-requested payment authorization Hold against the relevantBuyer's payment information and account.

As previously mentioned above, in an exemplary embodiment that placed anexemplary Hold on a payment authorization for a relevant tentative saleamount against a particular Buyer's account for a pre-establishedmaximum number of days, e.g., for an exemplary pre-established maximumperiod of seven (7) days, if confirmation of the consummation of therelevant transaction between the Buyer and the Seller (such as receiptof the Seller's input of the Buyer's identifier, or in other embodimentsas described elsewhere herein, receipt from the Seller and/or the Buyerof an authentic identifier) had not been received (i.e., the “Y” pathfrom exemplary function 125″ depicted in FIGS. 2A-2C) before theexpiration of the pre-established maximum number of days, then theexemplary embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2A through 2C would follow theexemplary “N” path from exemplary test function 125″, taking theexpiration of the pre-established maximum number of days as anindication that the Buyer had not agreed to complete the transaction140′ and as a default notification by the Buyer and/or the Seller thatthe transaction was not completed 145′; the exemplary embodiment wouldterminate the transaction, and would not submit any charges against theBuyer's previously-indicated payment method 150′/155′; the exemplaryTransaction Information database 111 and the exemplary PaymentInformation database 106 would be updated to show that the transactionhad been terminated; and as depicted in exemplary logic function 160′,the exemplary embodiment would notify the relevant Payment Entity (e.g.,one of exemplary Payment Entities 180 a-180 n) to remove thepreviously-requested payment authorization Hold against the relevantBuyer's payment information and account.

If, on the other hand, confirmation of the consummation of the relevanttransaction between the Buyer and the Seller is received by such anexemplary embodiment such as depicted in exemplary test function 125″depicted in FIGS. 2A-2C before the expiration of the pre-establishedmaximum period of time, then the exemplary embodiment would proceed withthe exemplary “Y” path from exemplary test function 125″ as describedfurther below.

As depicted in exemplary test function 125″, if the Buyer decides toaccept (a “Yes” path), then the Buyer would agree to complete thetransaction 130′, the Buyer would provide the Seller with the Buyer'sidentifier (Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator) 135′, and the Seller wouldcommunicate the Buyer's identifier (Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator) to theexemplary online marketplace (e.g., exemplary Company A) 220.

In the event that the Buyer had deleted the communication (e.g., theemail, or text message) that provided the Buyer's identifier(Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator), the exemplary embodiment would provide forBuyer communications (using any of various media and forms asillustratively described herein) to request another copy of the Buyer'sidentifier (Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator).

In order to communicate a human-readable, e.g., alphanumeric/specialcharacter, Buyer's identifier (Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator) to theexemplary online marketplace, the Seller would send the exemplary onlinemarketplace an email, text message, or Instant message, using theSeller's cell phone, or could call a telephone number associated withthe exemplary online marketplace and verbally state the Buyer'sidentifier (Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator), or could use the Seller'sphone's keypad to input the Buyer's identifier(Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator).

In order to communicate an image-based Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator, theSeller could photograph the image (including with a correspondingphrase, as the case may be) as it would be shown to the Seller by theBuyer on the display of the Buyer's cell phone; the Seller would thencommunicate the image (including with a corresponding phrase, as thecase may be) to the exemplary online marketplace (e.g., exemplaryCompany A) to confirm consummation of the local marketplace transaction.

Alternatively, in order to communicate such an image-basedBuyer-Acceptance-Indicator, the Seller could sign on to a Mobile App (asdescribed in more detail below), and select an image and a phrase from alist of presented images and phrases that match the image and phrasepresented in the Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator.

As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, therewould be other ways, without departing from the spirit of the presentinvention, for exemplary embodiments to provide for Seller communicationof such an image/phrase Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator. For example, theSeller could call a telephone number associated with the onlinemarketplace and could select from a verbal list of image descriptions,an image description that matches the image presented in theBuyer-Acceptance-Indicator; and the Seller could select from a verballist of phrases, the phrase that matches the phrase presented in theBuyer-Acceptance-Indicator, or alternatively, the Seller could use thecell phone's keypad to key in the phrase presented in theBuyer-Acceptance-Indicator.

The exemplary description above regarding generating and sending emailmessages to a Buyer, and receiving email messages from a Seller toconfirm consummation of a local marketplace transaction are illustrativeand non-limiting. Other ways of communicating the transaction identifier(random hash string, PIN code/key, or machine-readable symbology) couldbe used without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Forexample, the above-mentioned identifier (human-readable ormachine-readable) could be communicated to a Buyer in a text message, orInstant Messaging, and could similarly be communicated to the exemplaryonline marketplace by a Seller using text or Instant messaging. As yetanother alternative, a mobile application (Mobile App) could beprovided; the Buyer would be provided with a sign-in PIN code/key. Bysigning into the Mobile App using the Buyer's sign-in PIN code/key, theMobile App would present a screen that would comprise aBuyer-Acceptance-Indicator that would comprise, for example, a randomlygenerated hash string, a PIN code/key for the transaction, or amachine-readable symbology.

For a machine-readable symbology, the Seller could use the Seller's cellphone scanning device or digital camera to scan/photograph theBuyer-Acceptance-Indicator from the screen of the Buyer's cell phone.The Seller would then need to communicate thatBuyer-Acceptance-Indicator to the online marketplace, such as forexample, by signing into the Mobile App using a sign-on Seller's PINcode/key, and either typing in the Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator, orpasting a scanned-in or photographed copy of theBuyer-Acceptance-Indicator. Alternatively, as could be done with otherembodiments described herein, the Seller could call a telephone numberassociated with the online marketplace and verbally repeat a code ortype in a code using the phone keypad; or the Seller could text messagethe code to the online marketplace, or could access the onlinemarketplace website (whether a full website or a mobile version thewebsite) and provide the Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator.

As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, thedescription herein regarding exemplary use of Buyer and Seller cellphones is illustrative and not a limitation of the invention. Rather,intelligent devices that are capable of communicating using acommunications network, such as PDA's (Personal Digital Assistants),IPADs®, and other such devices whether now known or in the futurediscovered, could be used.

Further alternatives for communicating the Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator tothe Buyer (or in an alternative embodiment, communicating aSeller-Transaction-Complete-Indicator to the Seller), and/or forreceiving a corresponding confirmation of the consummation of therelevant local marketplace transaction from the other of the two parties(Buyer or Seller) could include voice mail, automated telephone callsand messages to the Buyer and/or Seller, telephone calls to the Buyerand/or Seller, Mobile Apps, text messaging, Instant messaging, email,local online marketplace email, social media postings (e.g., throughTWITTER®, FACEBOOK®, LINKEDIN®, GOOGLE®, or the like), pagercommunications, fax (facsimile) communications, and/or hardcopy mail.

As a yet further alternative, as compared to a system-generated code, auser (Buyer or Seller) could create their own transaction-specific code(comprising numbers, alphabetic characters, special characters, images(such as images that could be selected from a visual selection menu ofimages), or a combination of one or more images and text (alphanumericand/or special characters).

Continuing with reference to FIGS. 2A-2C, as depicted in exemplary testlogic function 225, the exemplary embodiment (as implemented by theexemplary online marketplace (e.g., exemplary Company A)) woulddetermine whether or not a transaction confirmation, such as a Seller'scommunication, had been received. To determine whether or not atransaction confirmation had been received, the exemplary embodimentaccess the exemplary Transaction Information database 111.

As depicted by the “N” (No) path from exemplary test logic function 225,in the event that the exemplary online marketplace (e.g., exemplaryCompany A) did not receive any notification from either the Buyer or theSeller within some period of time, one exemplary embodiment woulddetermine that no Seller confirmation of the transaction had beenreceived 280 and would send 285, an exemplary supplemental communicationto the Buyer and/or the Seller requesting confirmation that thetransaction took place or was declined; the exemplary embodiment wouldinclude in the communication to the Buyer the Buyer's identifier.

As depicted in exemplary test logic function 225′, the system wouldagain access the exemplary Transaction Information database 111 todetermine whether or not a transaction confirmation had been received.In the event that the exemplary online marketplace (e.g., exemplaryCompany A) still did not receive any notification from either the Buyeror the Seller (i.e., the “N” path (the No path)) from exemplary testlogic function 225′), such as within some period of time (such as, forexample, within an exemplary pre-established maximum number of days, aspreviously mentioned above), one exemplary embodiment would thenautomatically terminate the transaction, would not submit any chargesagainst the Buyer's previously-indicated payment method as depicted inexemplary function(s) 150″/155″/160″ and would update the exemplaryTransaction Information database 111 and the exemplary PaymentInformation database 106 to show that the transaction had beenterminated; as part of exemplary logic function 160″, the exemplaryembodiment would notify the relevant Payment Entity (e.g., one ofexemplary Payment Entities 180 a-180 n) to remove thepreviously-requested payment authorization hold against the relevantBuyer's payment information and account.

If, on the other hand, as depicted by the “Y” path (the Yes path) fromexemplary test logic function 225, the exemplary online marketplaceembodiment determines that a transaction consummation confirmation hasbeen received (and, in some exemplary embodiments, has been receivedwithin the previously-mentioned pre-established number of days), thenthe exemplary embodiment would receive the transaction consummationconfirmation (e.g., would receive the Seller's communication of theBuyer's identifier (Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator), and/or would receivethe Buyer's communication of the Seller-Transaction-Complete-Indicator)230, and would compare the Seller's (and/or Buyer's) input withinformation on the aforementioned exemplary Transaction Informationdatabase 111 in order to attempt to find a match between the Seller'sinput of the Buyer's identifier (Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator) and theSeller's telephone number as stored on the aforementioned database.

As depicted in exemplary logic function 240, the exemplary embodimentwould notify both the Buyer and the Seller that a transactionconfirmation had been received and would update the exemplaryTransaction Information database 111.

Then, if based on the comparison done as depicted in exemplary logicfunction 230, it is determined as depicted in exemplary test function245 that the identifier provided (the Seller's communication of theBuyer's identifier (Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator), and/or the Buyer'scommunication of the Seller-Transaction-Complete-Indicator) matches theinformation stored on the database, then as depicted by the “Y” (Yes)path from exemplary test function 245, it would be determined 250 thatthe identifier that had been provided is correct, the exemplaryembodiment would send 255 an exemplary “Transaction Confirmed”communication to both the Buyer and the Seller and would update theexemplary Transaction Information database 111, the exemplary embodimentwould charge 290 the Buyer's previously-indicated payment method for thefull purchase price of the item and would update the exemplaryTransaction Information database 111 and the exemplary PaymentInformation database 106. As depicted by exemplary logic function 292,in order to charge the Buyer, the exemplary embodiment would authorizethe relevant Payment Entity (e.g., one of exemplary Payment Entities 180a-180 n) to charge the Buyer's payment method and account for theadvertised sale amount; the relevant Payment Entity would confirm to theexemplary embodiment that payment had been charged; the exemplaryembodiment would then notify 294 both the Buyer and Seller that paymenthad been made and confirmed. Then, the exemplary embodiment would, asdepicted in exemplary logic function 295, deduct from the full purchaseprice of the item a commission for exemplary Company A, and woulddeposit the remaining amount into an account for the Seller.

Some exemplary embodiments would facilitate a revision of the saleprice, such as may occur with local marketplace transactionnegotiations. In one such exemplary embodiment, the Seller would beallowed to input an actual sale price that would be lower than theadvertised sale amount; the exemplary embodiment would email theSeller's input of the actual sale price to the Buyer for confirmation;the Buyer's confirmation of the actual sale price would cause theexemplary embodiment to notify the relevant Payment Entity (e.g., one ofexemplary Payment Entities 180 a-180 n) with an authorization to therelevant Payment Entity (e.g., one of exemplary Payment Entities 180a-180 n) to charge the Buyer's payment method and account for the actualsale price and to remove any Hold on any amount difference between theactual sale price and the advertised sale amount.

In the exemplary embodiment, the exemplary “Transaction Confirmed”communication to the Buyer would comprise, among other things, someidentifier, such as, for example, an exemplary Buyer confirmationpassword or passphrase that had previously been selected by the Buyer,or an exemplary Buyer confirmation image that had previously beenselected by the Buyer, or some other exemplary Buyer confirmationidentifier that had previously been selected by the Buyer; the exemplary“Transaction Confirmed” communication to the Seller would similarlycomprise, among other things, some identifier, such as, for example, anexemplary Seller confirmation password or passphrase that had previouslybeen selected by the Seller, or an exemplary Seller confirmation image,or some other exemplary Seller confirmation identifier that hadpreviously been selected by the Seller. The exemplary respective Sellerand Buyer confirmation identifiers would be provided to provideauthenticity to the respective Seller and Buyer of the TransactionConfirmed communication so that the respective Seller and Buyer wouldknow that the Transaction Confirmed communication had been sent by theexemplary online marketplace as opposed to having been sent by someunscrupulous party, such as by an unscrupulous Buyer or Seller.

If on the other hand, based on the comparison done as depicted inexemplary logic function 230, it is determined as depicted in exemplarytest function 245 that the identifier provided (the Seller'scommunication of the Buyer's identifier (Buyer-Acceptance-Indicator),and/or the Buyer's communication of theSeller-Transaction-Complete-Indicator) did not match the informationstored on the database, then as depicted by the “N” (No) path fromexemplary test function 245, it would be determined 260 that theidentifier that had been provided was incorrect, the exemplaryembodiment would, as depicted in exemplary logic function 265, notifythe Seller that the incorrect identifier had been received, would updatethe exemplary Transaction Information database 111, and would again sendthe Buyer the correct Buyer identifier. At that point, it would bepossible as depicted in exemplary logic function 270 for the Buyer toprovide the Seller with the correct identifier and for the Seller toprovide the correct Buyer identifier to the exemplary onlinemarketplace. Then, as depicted in exemplary logic function 275, theexemplary online marketplace (e.g., exemplary Company A) would accessthe exemplary Transaction Information database 111 and would confirmthat the identifier provided is correct as depicted by the “Y” (Yes)path from exemplary test logic function 245′, and if so, would send anexemplary “Transaction Confirmed” notification to both the Buyer and theSeller and would update the exemplary Transaction Information database111; the exemplary embodiment would charge 290 the Buyer'spreviously-indicated payment method for the full purchase price of theitem and would update the exemplary Transaction Information database 111to reflect that the transaction had been confirmed as having beencompleted and would update the exemplary Payment Information database toreflect the charge to the Buyer's payment method account, the exemplaryembodiment would, as depicted in exemplary logic function 295, deductfrom the full purchase price of the item a commission for exemplaryCompany A, and would deposit the remaining amount into an account forthe Seller. As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in theart, charges to a Buyer's payment method account would be processedaccording to communications with appropriate credit card, debit cardand/or other financial payment entities.

On the other hand, if it were determined that the provided identifierwas still not correct (as depicted by the “N” (No) path from exemplarytest logic function 245′, the exemplary embodiment would terminate thetransaction and would not charge the Buyer as depicted in exemplarylogic function 150′″ and 155′″/160′″; the exemplary embodiment wouldupdate the exemplary Transaction Information database 111 and theexemplary Payment Information database 106 to show that the transactionhad been terminated; as part of exemplary logic function 160′″, theexemplary embodiment would notify the relevant Payment Entity (e.g., oneof exemplary Payment Entities 180 a-180 n) to remove thepreviously-requested payment authorization hold against the relevantBuyer's payment information and account. In such event, some exemplaryembodiments would flag the Seller for more stringent review for futureproposed transactions.

Some exemplary embodiments would further provide for the Buyer and/orSeller to communicate to the exemplary online marketplace a scheduleddate and time for meeting. Some exemplary embodiments wouldautomatically send the Buyer the Buyer's identifier just prior to thescheduled meeting and would automatically send the Seller a reminder ofthe scheduled meeting and that the transaction completion must beconfirmed in order for payment to the Seller to be authorized. Someexemplary embodiments would add an agreed-to meeting location, date andtime to user calendars, such as, for example, an exemplaryonline-marketplace website meeting calendar, personal computercalendars, or calendars associated with email accounts for the Buyer andSeller (e.g., GOOGLE® CALENDAR).

In some exemplary embodiments, the form and/or media for suchcommunications between the exemplary online marketplace and the Buyerand Seller would be definable by the respective Buyer and Seller. Insome exemplary embodiments, the form and/or media for suchcommunications could be limited depending on the type of device that therespective Buyer and/or Seller would be using. For example, for a Buyerand Seller that are each using intelligent phones with digital camerasor scanning devices, the exemplary embodiment would agree, if requested,to provide the Buyer identifier in the form of a machine-readablebarcode; but if one or the other of the Buyer's or Seller's phones werenot enabled to take digital photographs or scan images, then theexemplary embodiment would limit the form, and would, for example,communicate by email or text message.

Payment Processor Embodiments

Some online companies may not be in a position to provide paymentcompletion through their own websites. Or, for other reasons, someonline companies may prefer to operate through what will be referred toherein as “Payment Processors.” In the context of describing alternativeexemplary embodiments, the term Payment Processor will be understood tomean an online forum, such as an online Internet website, that wouldprovide for user payment to third-party companies for purchases madethrough those third-party companies. An exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention could be implemented for payment to exemplary CompanyA through an exemplary Payment Processor.

A Payment Processor may refuse to process payments for an exemplaryCompany A unless and until the exemplary Company A can provideconfirmation that each online transaction for which Company A demandspayment has occurred. As was previously mentioned above, incircumstances where an online Company is itself responsible for sellingan item, and where the online Company itself is responsible for shippingthe item that is being sold to the purchaser, such an online Company maytender to the relevant online Payment Processor as confirmation that therelevant online transaction has been consummated, a shipping document,such as, for example, a Delivery Confirmation number associated with ashipping of the item.

Even with such a shipping-document-based transaction confirmation basisas described above, a purchaser may contest ever receiving the item, oralternatively, once the purchaser receives the item, may find itunacceptable and want to return it. When a purchaser returns an item, orcontests ever receiving the item, a Payment Processor must process acharge back from the relevant online merchant (e.g., the exemplaryCompany A) and adjust the purchaser's payment method account for theamount of the refund/charge-back.

However, online companies, such as the exemplary Company A, that do notactually ship items to purchasers, would not be able to provide any typeof shipment confirmation, and therefore, would need some other form oftransaction consummation confirmation, to provide to, and that would beacceptable by, Payment Processors.

As will be described further below, exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention could be implemented in various ways to provide onlinemarketplace companies, such as the exemplary Company A, that do notactually ship items to purchasers, with a reliable form of transactionconsummation confirmation, that the online marketplace company couldprovide to, and that would be acceptable by, Payment Processors toconfirm transaction consummation and provide a basis for the PaymentProcessor to charge the relevant purchaser's payment method account, andpay the relevant online marketplace company, or alternatively, pay theactual seller directly.

In one exemplary Payment Processor embodiment, an exemplary PaymentProcessor would store the Buyer's payment information on the PaymentProcessor's own website, but would require that exemplary onlinemarketplace Company A (or other “Third-Party Payment Aggregator”)implement an exemplary embodiment of the present invention on CompanyA's own website. In such an exemplaryonline-marketplace-based-Payment-Processor embodiment, the exemplaryPayment Processor would agree to process payments for the relevantonline marketplace (e.g., exemplary Company A) but would require thatthe relevant online marketplace process transaction arrangementssubstantially as described above with regard to FIG. 1 and could requirethat the relevant online marketplace process transaction consummationconfirmations substantially as described previously above with regard toFIGS. 2A-2C.

FIG. 3 depicts alternative high-level logic functions for an exemplaryPayment Processor to process payments for third-party online marketplacecompanies in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Onedifference, or additional process, in such an exemplaryonline-marketplace-based-Payment-Processor embodiment, not shown in FIG.1, would be that the relevant exemplary online marketplace would providethe Buyer's payment information and an amount for the transaction (see,e.g., the exemplary logic function identified by element number105″/107″/108″/109″ in FIG. 3) to the relevant Payment Processor.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, when a Buyer is to provide paymentinformation, the payment information input pages could be provided sothat the Buyer would directly input the payment method information intothe Payment Processor's system as illustratively depicted in exemplarylogic function 105″/107″/108″/109″ depicted in FIG. 3. As part ofexemplary logic function 105″/107″/108″/109″ depicted in FIG. 3, theexemplary embodiment would verify payment information throughcommunications with the relevant Payment Entity (e.g., one of exemplaryPayment Entities 180 a-180 n), and for verified payment information,would request a Payment Authorization Hold for the amount of theproposed sale amount for the item. Payment information would be stored(whether by the exemplary online marketplace or by the exemplary PaymentProcessor) on an exemplary Payment Information database 106″.

In one exemplary embodiment where the Buyer inputs payment methodinformation directly into the Payment Processor's system/website, thePayment Processor would return the Buyer to the online marketplacewebsite when the payment method information input had been completed,and would notify the online marketplace that the payment information hadbeen successfully input for the relevant payment amount.

As compared to the processes depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2A-2C, anotherdifference, or additional process, would be that the relevant exemplaryonline marketplace would provide the relevant Payment Processor withconfirmation that a transaction had been consummated as describedfurther below and as illustratively depicted at a high level byexemplary logic function 310 in FIG. 3.

In one exemplary online-marketplace-based-Payment-Processor embodiment,the exemplary Payment Processor would require that the relevantexemplary online marketplace notify the Payment Processor of thetransaction completion confirmation as illustratively depicted inexemplary logic function 310 depicted in FIG. 3; upon receipt 320 of atransaction completion confirmation and an amount of the transactionfrom the relevant exemplary online marketplace, the exemplary PaymentProcessor would store information regarding the transaction in anexemplary database 350, and would access the exemplary PaymentInformation database 106″ and would charge 330 the Buyer's account forthe amount of the transaction, including communicating an authorizationto the relevant Payment Entity (e.g., one of exemplary Payment Entities180 a-180 n) to charge the Buyer's payment method and account for theamount of the transaction; as depicted in exemplary logic function 340,the exemplary Payment Processor would reduce the amount of thetransaction by an amount of a commission, which would be deposited tothe behalf of the Payment Processor, would then credit an accountassociated with the exemplary online marketplace (or alternatively,directly to an account for the third-party Seller) for the remainingamount, and would notify the exemplary online marketplace that paymentfor the transaction had been completed. The exemplary online marketplacewould then notify 360 the Buyer and Seller that the transaction had beencompleted and would update transaction information on the exemplaryTransaction Information database 111.

In some exemplary online-marketplace-based-Payment-Processorembodiments, the transaction complete confirmation number provided tothe Payment Processor by the relevant exemplary online marketplace andsaved by the exemplary Payment Processor would be unique, orsubstantially unique, during, for example, a particular period of time.The term substantially unique is used herein to mean that the relevantidentifier is capable of identifying a particular transaction asdistinct from other transactions, whether on its own, or when combinedwith some other factors, such as a date, a time, a date and a time, orother such information. Even though the transaction completeconfirmation number provided to the Payment Processor would besubstantially unique, it would not necessarily be the same as either theabove-described exemplary “hash” string, or the exemplary PIN code/key.Rather, the exemplary online marketplace would conduct the exemplarytransaction consummation confirmation process substantially as describedabove with regard to FIGS. 2A-2C, but, as an alternative to providingthe Payment Processor with the above-described exemplary “hash” string,or the exemplary PIN code/key, could instead provide the exemplaryPayment Processor with a separate alternative identifier for the sametransaction.

In the event that the exemplary online marketplace provides analternative transaction identifier as confirmation of a transaction(i.e., as a transaction complete confirmation number) that is not thesame as either the above-described exemplary “hash” string, or theexemplary PIN code/key, the exemplary Payment Processor would requirethat, and the exemplary online marketplace (such as exemplary Company A)would, store a relationship between the transaction completeconfirmation number provided to the Payment Processor by the exemplaryonline marketplace (such as exemplary Company A) and the Buyeridentifier, the Seller identifier, the Buyer telephone number and theSeller telephone number. In the event that a chargeback (e.g., a return,or a Buyer “stop payment”) issued, the Payment Processor would providethe transaction complete confirmation number to the exemplary onlinemarketplace (such as exemplary Company A) so that the exemplary onlinemarketplace (such as exemplary Company A) could apply the appropriateadjustment in the database(s) for the exemplary online marketplacesystem.

As an alternative to each online marketplace implementing a separateembodiment of the present invention, one alternative embodiment would beimplemented through the Payment Processor's own website. FIG. 4 depictsfurther alternative high-level logic functions for an exemplary PaymentProcessor for processing a confirmation by a party to a localmarketplace transaction of a consummation of the local marketplacetransaction in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As will be described further below, in one such self-implemented PaymentProcessor embodiment, the Payment Processor would store Seller and Buyerinformation, including the Buyer's payment information, and transactionverifications on the Payment Processor's own website. In such anembodiment, once an exemplary online marketplace has identified a Buyerwho has agreed to tentatively purchase an item from a Seller identifiedon the website of the exemplary online marketplace, the rest of thetransaction completion verification process that had been depicted anddescribed previously above with regard to FIGS. 2A-2C would be handledthrough the Payment Processor's website rather than through the websiteof the exemplary online marketplace. In such an embodiment, theexemplary Payment Processor would stand in the shoes of the exemplaryCompany A depicted in FIGS. 2A-2C substantially beginning with exemplarylogic function 105′. In such an embodiment, the exemplary PaymentProcessor would notify the exemplary online marketplace when atransaction has been completed and would credit an account for thebehalf of the exemplary online marketplace with some percentage of thetransaction amount for such a completed transaction. In such anembodiment, the exemplary online marketplace would essentially beoutsourcing confirmation of transactions and payment for suchtransactions to the exemplary Payment Processor.

One exemplary self-implemented Payment Processor embodiment isillustratively depicted in FIG. 4. As depicted in FIG. 4, an exemplaryBuyer would search or browse the website of an exemplary onlinemarketplace (as illustratively depicted by exemplary Seller/ItemInformation database 112) and would identify 101′ an item to purchasefrom a third-party Seller.

As illustratively depicted in exemplary logic function 410, theexemplary online marketplace would notify the relevant Payment.Processor that the Buyer wants to purchase a particular item from aparticular third-party Seller and would send the relevant PaymentProcessor information regarding the Seller, the item and the proposedtransaction, including a transaction amount. Then, as illustrativelydepicted in exemplary logic function 420, the exemplary onlinemarketplace would redirect the Buyer to the Payment Processor's websiteto complete the transaction.

Then, as illustratively depicted in exemplary logic function 430, theexemplary Payment Processor would prompt the Buyer for Buyer PaymentMethod information, would verify the payment information with therelevant Payment Entity (e.g., one of exemplary Payment Entities 180a-180 n), for valid payment information, would request the relevantPayment Entity (e.g., one of exemplary Payment Entities 180 a-180 n) toplace an authorization hold on the Buyer's payment method and accountfor the relevant amount of the transaction, would generate Buyeridentifier, would email the Buyer and the Seller the informationpreviously described above regarding, for example, a Buyer identifier(and/or a Seller identifier), and would store the payment andtransaction information on databases, such as exemplary PaymentInformation Database 106′ and exemplary Transaction Information Database111′, on the Payment Processor's website. That is, once the exemplaryonline marketplace redirects the Buyer to the Payment Processor'swebsite, the rest of the transaction completion verification processthat had been depicted and described previously above beginningsubstantially with exemplary logic function 105′ illustratively depictedin FIGS. 2A-2C, would be handled through the Payment Processor's websiterather than through the website of the exemplary online marketplace.

The processes beginning substantially with exemplary logic function 105′illustratively depicted in FIGS. 2A-2C are illustratively summarized forthe exemplary Payment Processor embodiment as exemplary summary logicfunctions 430, 440 (Payment Processor would receive transactionconsummation confirmation from Buyer/Seller 450), 460 (Payment Processorwould process transaction consummation confirmation), and 470 (For avalid transaction consummation confirmation, the Payment Processor wouldauthorize the relevant Payment Entity (e.g., one of exemplary PaymentEntities 180 a-180 n) to charge the Buyer Payment Method Account for thetransaction amount; updates transaction information, and would credit anaccount for the Payment Processor with a percentage of the transactionamount and credits the Seller's account for the remainder, minus apercentage for the online marketplace). Once the transaction has beencompleted, the exemplary Payment Processor would then notify 480 therelevant online marketplace that the transaction had been completed andwould credit an account for the online marketplace with a percentage ofthe transaction amount. The online marketplace would then update 485 itsaccounting information in an exemplary Accounting database 490.

Usefulness; Advantages

Some exemplary embodiments of the present invention would provide Buyerprotections. For example, with exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention, a Buyer would not need to show up to a local meeting with apotential Seller with a lot of cash in the Buyer's pocket. Further, theBuyer would not be charged prior to viewing an item and agreeing tocomplete the purchase transaction.

Some exemplary embodiments of the present invention would also provideSeller protections. For example, Sellers, and online marketplaces thatimplement an embodiment of the present invention, could implement a noreturn/no refund policy because the transaction would not be completed,and the Buyer would not be charged, unless and until the Buyer meets theSeller, personally inspects the item, and agrees to purchase the item.For example, an online marketplace could implement a policy to instructeach Buyer to verify the condition of the item to be purchased duringthe Buyer's inspection meeting with the Seller; the policy could informthat Buyer that receipt of transaction confirmation would beconfirmation that the buyer has: agreed to transaction; has actually metwith seller; has verified the condition of the item as satisfactory; andhas received the item.

Another Seller protection would be provided by the process of obtaininga payment authorization from a relevant Payment Entity, and requestingan immediate Payment Authorization Hold on the proposed amount of thetransaction. Such an exemplary Payment Authorization Hold wouldaccomplish verification of the Buyer's payment information and wouldassure that the amount for the transaction was verified and placed onhold (in some embodiments, only for some pre-established maximum numberof days) pending confirmation of the transaction further to theremainder of the disclosed exemplary embodiment process. As mentionedabove, some embodiments would facilitate negotiations between the Buyerand the Seller that could result in a different, for example, but notlimited to, a lower-than-advertised price; the Seller could inform theexemplary embodiment of the revised price, the exemplary embodimentwould confirm the revised price with the Buyer, and would then authorizethe relevant Payment Entity to charge the Buyer for the finallynegotiated price.

In view of the above-mentioned factors that would be confirmed byreceipt of transaction confirmation, some exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention would also provide protection (to Sellers, onlinemarketplaces and/or Payment Processors) from chargebacks and/or risk ofchargebacks. For example, because receipt of a transaction confirmationwould confirm that the buyer has: agreed to transaction; has actuallymet with seller; has verified the condition of the item as satisfactory;and has received the item, claims as to fraudulent sales and/orfraudulent delivery would be greatly reduced. The transactionconsummation confirmation would provide the company (Seller, onlinemarketplace, Payment Processor) with evidence that the transaction tookplace and that the Buyer had verified that the item was of asatisfactory condition prior to finalizing transaction and would therebyprovide a basis for defense in the event of a chargeback.

Further, because exemplary embodiments of the present invention wouldfacilitate safer local meetings to transact exchanges, there would be noneed for shipping costs. Yet further, the verification by the Buyer thatthe item is of satisfactory condition would reduce the concern ofcompanies that are involved in providing a marketplace for the exchangeof items over which the company has no control. Further still, becauseexemplary embodiments would eliminate the need for a Buyer to show up toa local meeting with a potential Seller with a lot of cash in theBuyer's pocket for purchasing the item, the enhanced safety would reduceliability on the part of companies that provide an online marketplacefor the exchange of items between Buyers and Sellers over which thecompany has no control.

Facsimile Reproduction of Copyright Material

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection by the copyright owner, Erik T.Bogaard, and his successors and assigns. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

Illustrative Embodiments

Although this invention has been described in certain specificembodiments, many additional modifications and variations would beapparent to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understoodthat this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specificallydescribed. Moreover, to those skilled in the various arts, the inventionitself herein will suggest solutions to other tasks and adaptations forother applications. Thus, the embodiments of the invention describedherein should be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, the scope of the invention to be determined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents rather than the foregoing description.

What is claimed is:
 1. An Internet-based computer system for confirmingthat a sale transaction has been consummated, said Internet-basedcomputer system comprising at least one server computer programmed to:in response to a buyer request by a buyer to be able to purchase an itemfeatured for sale by a seller, receive a buyer definition of atransaction-specific identifier of payment authorization; and store in acomputer-accessible memory, information comprising a relationshipbetween the buyer definition of said transaction-specific identifier ofpayment authorization, an identification of the buyer, and anidentification of the seller.
 2. The Internet-based computer system ofclaim 1, wherein the buyer definition of said identifier of paymentauthorization comprises an identifier that is unique for a particularperiod of time within said Internet-based computer system, said at leastone server computer further programmed to: receive from the seller acommunication comprising a transaction identifier and a selleridentification; determine, according to said information stored in saidcomputer-accessible memory, whether the transaction identifier comprisesthe buyer definition of said transaction-specific identifier of paymentauthorization and whether the seller identification comprises theidentification of the seller; and for the communication wherein thetransaction identifier comprises the buyer definition of saidtransaction-specific identifier of payment authorization, and the selleridentification comprises the identification of the seller, charge anaccount associated with the buyer for an amount associated with the itemfeatured for sale.
 3. The Internet-based computer system of claim 2,said at least one server computer further programmed to: for thecommunication wherein the transaction identifier comprises the buyerdefinition of said transaction-specific identifier of paymentauthorization, and the seller identification comprises theidentification of the seller, credit an account associated with theseller for at least a portion of the amount associated with the itemfeatured for sale.
 4. The Internet-based computer system of claim 1,wherein said information stored in said computer-accessible memoryfurther comprises an identification of the item featured for sale, saidat least one server computer further programmed to: receive from theseller a communication of a transaction identifier, a selleridentification and an identification of an item being sold; determine,according to said information stored in said computer-accessible memory,whether the transaction identifier comprises the buyer definition ofsaid transaction-specific identifier of payment authorization, whetherthe seller identification comprises the identification of the seller,and whether the identification of an item being sold corresponds to theidentification of the item featured for sale; and for the communicationwherein the transaction identifier comprises the buyer definition ofsaid transaction-specific identifier of payment authorization, theseller identification comprises the identification of the seller, andthe identification of the item being sold corresponds to theidentification of the item featured for sale, charge an accountassociated with the buyer for an amount associated with the itemfeatured for sale.
 5. The Internet-based computer system of claim 4,said at least one server computer further programmed to: for thecommunication wherein the transaction identifier comprises the buyerdefinition of said transaction-specific identifier of paymentauthorization, and the seller identification comprises theidentification of the seller, credit an account associated with theseller for at least a portion of the amount associated with the itemfeatured for sale.
 6. An Internet-based computer system for confirmingthat a sale transaction has been consummated, said Internet-basedcomputer system comprising at least one server computer programmed to:in response to a buyer request by a buyer to be able to purchase atleast one item featured for sale through the Internet-based computersystem by a seller recognized by the Internet-based computer system,generate a transaction-specific buyer acceptance identifier; store in acomputer-accessible memory, information comprising a relationshipbetween the transaction-specific buyer acceptance identifier, anidentification of the buyer, and an identification of the seller; andcommunicate the transaction-specific buyer acceptance identifier to thebuyer.
 7. The Internet-based computer system of claim 6 said at leastone server computer further programmed to: receive from a seller acommunication of a transaction consummation completion identifier, aseller identification, and transaction information comprising: an itemidentifier, or a transaction amount; determine whether: the transactionconsummation completion identifier comprises the transaction-specificbuyer acceptance identifier, and the seller identification comprises anidentification of a seller recognized by the Internet-based computersystem; and for the communication wherein the transaction consummationcompletion identifier comprises the transaction-specific buyeracceptance identifier, and the seller identification comprises theidentification of a seller recognized by the Internet-based computersystem, charge an account associated with the buyer for an amountcomprising: said transaction amount, or an amount associated with saiditem identifier.
 8. The Internet-based computer system of claim 7 saidat least one server computer further programmed to: for thecommunication wherein the transaction consummation completion identifiercomprises the transaction-specific buyer acceptance identifier, and theseller identification comprises the identification of a sellerrecognized by the Internet-based computer system, credit an accountassociated with the seller for at least a portion of the amount.
 9. Acomputer-implemented method for confirming that a transaction has beenconsummated, said computer-implemented method comprising using at leastone computer device programmed to: receive a buyer request to purchasean item featured for sale by a seller for a particular sale amount;generate an identifier of a proposed transaction for a sale of the item;save in a computer-accessible memory a record comprising the identifierof the proposed transaction, a buyer identifier, a seller identifier,and requirements for confirming a completion of the proposedtransaction; communicate the identifier of the proposed transaction to afirst party to the proposed transaction according to said requirements,said first party comprising one of the buyer or the seller; receive froma second party to the proposed transaction a communication of atransaction identifier and of an identifier of said second party, saidsecond party comprising one of the buyer or the seller, said secondparty comprising a party other than the first party; access saidcomputer-accessible memory using said transaction identifier, accesssaid requirements and according to said requirements, determine whether:the transaction identifier comprises the identifier of the proposedtransaction, and the identifier of said second party comprises the buyeridentifier or the seller identifier, as required by said requirements;and for the transaction identifier that comprises the identifier of theproposed transaction, and for the identifier of said second party thatcomprises the buyer identifier or the seller identifier, as required bysaid requirements, authorize a charge to an account associated with thebuyer for said particular sale amount.
 10. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 9, for the transaction identifier that comprises theidentifier of the proposed transaction, and for the identifier of saidsecond party that comprises the buyer identifier or the selleridentifier, as required by said requirements, said at least one computerdevice further programmed to: notify the buyer and the seller that thebuyer has been successfully charged for said particular sale amount. 11.The computer-implemented method of claim 10, said at least one computerdevice further programmed to: before communicating the identifier of theproposed transaction to said first party: obtain buyer paymentinformation, verify that said buyer payment information is valid, andrequest a payment authorization hold for said buyer payment informationfor said particular sale amount.
 12. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 9, for the transaction identifier that comprises the identifier ofthe proposed transaction, and for the identifier of said second partythat comprises the buyer identifier or the seller identifier, asrequired by said requirements, said at least one computer device furtherprogrammed to: credit to an account associated with the seller an amountequivalent to at least a portion of said particular sale amount.